


imagine me and you, I do

by mrs_leary (julie)



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Australia, M/M, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-13
Updated: 2011-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-28 06:37:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/mrs_leary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bradley and his friend Dave were heading to Australia for a three week holiday before the next season of <i>Merlin</i> starts filming. When Dave can't make it, Bradley takes Colin instead. Which is great - although they are perplexed to find that Dave seems to have only booked double rooms, not twins…</p>
            </blockquote>





	imagine me and you, I do

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the awesome and generous **starlollie** ♥ as part of **The Purple Dove Project** , a fandom auction intended primarily to help combat anti-LGBTQ bullying in schools, in homes, and elsewhere. ♥
> 
>  **starlollie** asked for the boys to be on holiday together somewhere a little different to their usual haunts of England, Wales and France. (I hope you like what I came up with, hon!)

♦

### Bradley

  
‘I have your double room available for you two boys,’ announced the obnoxiously cheerful receptionist. Honestly, there should be some kind of law about toning it down for people suffering from halfway–round–the–planet jetlag.

‘A double?’ Bradley echoed. ‘Don’t you mean a twin?’

‘You’re down here as booking a double, mate.’

Bradley twitched a bit at the familiarity, then lowered his head and rubbed at the place between his brows where all his tensions seemed to focus. ‘My friend Dave made the bookings. We agreed to share – We agreed to share _twin_ rooms.’

‘Maybe your mate Dave –’

‘No,’ Bradley said, cutting the guy off. Sleep deprivation was a legal defence for all kinds of evildoings, and the receptionist was in danger of finding that out the hard way. ‘Sorry, but Dave wouldn’t have made a mistake like that.’

The receptionist cast a glance at Colin, who was waiting somewhere behind Bradley’s shoulder. ‘Of course I understand that if circumstances have changed –’

‘Dave couldn’t make it, in the end. Colin came instead. We _also_ agreed to share twin rooms.’

‘The problem is, Mr James –’

‘Do you know how long the flight from London to Sydney is? Don’t talk to me about problems. I can’t sleep on planes. I just _can’t_  –’

‘He can’t,’ Colin chipped in, somehow both earnestly and hollowly.

‘Doesn’t matter so much,’ Bradley continued, ‘flying to America. Australia’s a whole different thing. Twenty–four hours on a plane without a wink of sleep. _That’s_ a problem.’

‘Yes, Mr James, I imagine it is. But unfortunately,’ the receptionist smoothly announced, ‘the hotel is almost fully booked. The only other room available is also a double. So I can offer you separate rooms, but I’m afraid we’ll have to charge you.’

Bradley turned, and stared at Colin – who shrugged after a long moment, and said, ‘It’s only for a couple of nights, isn’t it? And then we’re off up the coast.’

‘Yeah. Yeah, all right.’

‘Of course…’ the receptionist murmured smugly, as if he’d known all along that the two of them would end up in the same bed – but he was tapping away at his computer, and didn’t respond to Bradley’s glare. ‘Your key, Mr James, and a spare for your friend. You’re on the seventh floor. The lift is just on the left there.’

Bradley managed to mumble something that sounded vaguely grateful, and then he followed as Colin led the way to the lift. Just as the lift doors were closing, Bradley caught a wink from the receptionist. _Cheeky sod,_ Bradley muttered to himself.

‘Sleep,’ said Colin in the empty mournful tones he’d adopted. ‘Can we sleep now, d’you think?’

‘Course,’ said Bradley. It was already after nine at night; their plane had landed almost two hours ago. Received wisdom had it that if they’d landed during the day they should try to stay awake until it was a reasonable hour for going to bed – but nine was plenty reasonable enough, after what they’d suffered. ‘Course we can. ’m not even gonna unpack.’

‘Good.’

Colin was staring as the display of floor numbers ticked up one by one. Bradley felt quite bad at what he’d put the guy through, given that he just hadn’t been able to let Colin sleep if Bradley himself couldn’t. He’d needed distraction, entertainment, companionship – and what else were friends for? Still, he’d been horribly selfish, really. He’d have to make it up to the guy.

There was no thought of that for now, though, or maybe the only sane thing to do now was let Colin be. They each used the bathroom, and changed into the t–shirts and boxers they wore to bed. Then they got in, each instinctively taking a side and thank heavens not choosing the same one. And Bradley had been going to say goodnight as he reached to turn out the lights, but he blinked and it was dark, and when he glanced at the clock he saw that five hours had already passed. He huffed in surprise, and turned over to resettle himself, conscious of Colin lying there beside him peacefully snuffling.

Sleep. Sleep was good.

♦

### Colin

  
It seemed that Bradley was a snuggler. Colin woke after what felt like an epoch had passed, stretched out on his back, on his own side of the bed. And a curled–up Bradley was tucked in against Colin’s side, forehead pressed against Colin’s shoulder, and mouth creating a bit of a damp spot on his sleeve as he breathed deep and slow. He seemed so… content. Nothing like the desperately restless lunatic he’d been on the plane. Colin sighed, and tried not to notice that he himself was smiling fondly. Maybe Bradley’s bad flight came down to stress, or something. They’d be here in Australia for just under three weeks. Plenty of time for Bradley to relax. Surely the trip home wouldn’t be so traumatic. Bradley would relax, and they’d watch a couple of in–flight movies together, and then maybe Bradley would curl up like this against Colin and maybe **_just maybe_** _go to sleep damn it…_

Another sigh. Colin shifted onto his side, happy to slip away for a little more rest. He didn’t even care what the time was. And he was already facing Bradley before he realised that he should have turned the other way, but it was too late, cos Bradley was already snuggling in closer still, head tucked in against Colin’s chest. Colin considered him for a long moment in the dim curtained twilight of a hotel morning. Honestly, Bradley wouldn’t have looked more trusting and childlike if he’d been sucking his thumb.

Colin’s smile grew, and he let his arm settle where it rested naturally, circling Bradley’s shoulders. And they slept.

♦

The day was sunny with the most enormous blue sky, and they were both still in a bit of a daze, so they just did the obvious thing and went out on the harbour. Bypassing the tourist cruises, they took one of the leisurely old ferries out to Manly, and wandered along the beach there eating ice cream and feeling overdressed despite only wearing t–shirts, jeans and trainers. Everything was bright and colourful, and so laidback it was as if everyone’s heart was beating at half the speed of Colin and Bradley’s…

‘I think,’ said Colin after a while, ‘that I need to take a breath.’

‘Yeah, we gotta adjust to this. Turn it back down.’

‘We’ve been living turned up to eleven for too long.’ It was silly, really, if they hadn’t even managed to relax properly during the hiatus.

They looked at each other, and grinned kind of wryly, before stopping and each deliberately taking a deep breath… and letting it _flow_ … Colin could feel the oxygen sparkling through his lungs like champagne.

‘Johnny’s gonna kill us when we get back,’ Colin observed as they sauntered on at something more like an Aussie pace. ‘You and Dave really cut it close. We’ll be jetlagged going into rehearsals, for a start.’

‘We’ll still be on Aussie time, too.’

‘Yeah. He’s gonna hang, draw, and quarter us…’

Bradley beamed at him. ‘Mate, we’ll be so relaxed that we won’t even care…’

Colin laughed, and something that had been wrought up tight within him just melted away into nothing. He couldn’t even remember now what it had been. And taking the hydrofoil back into the city didn’t rev him up again, despite it zipping along at, like, _ten_ times whatever speed the ferry had been doing. This was perfect. Poor Dave for planning all this and then missing out.

But not even a guilty qualm could spoil Colin’s mood. ‘Sorry, Dave,’ Colin murmured to himself, as Bradley led him up towards The Rocks with a grin and a brief brush of his knuckles against the back of Colin’s hand. _Sorry, but I can’t feel sorry at all…_

♦

Bradley was definitely a snuggler. Colin woke to find himself spooned by his friend, and he was so utterly warmly comfortable that he didn’t even budge an inch let alone push Bradley away, despite the fact that his… um, well, his _morning glory_ was poking impertinently at Colin’s rear. Colin huffed a laugh. He was in much the same state himself. He lay there, letting time idle past, more content than he could have even imagined being only two days before.

Until at last Bradley stirred – and then the rest of him stiffened for a moment, before he carefully pulled away with a muttered curse. Colin just chuckled, in response to which Bradley gave him a playful shove; Colin overreacted and pretended to fall out of bed, and as he made his escape to the bathroom, even Bradley was laughing quietly.

♦

It was only while they ate breakfast at a cafe just down the road on Oxford Street that something finally occurred to Colin. It wasn’t the local paper so much, cos a newspaper titled the _Sydney Star Observer_ could have been anything: it was the prominence given to stories on gay marriage and such, and the emphasis on torsos with six–pack abs in the ads up the back. It wasn’t so much the two women at the next table caught up in each other’s conversation: it was that their comfort with each other went beyond friendly to intimate. It wasn’t so much the colourful decor: it was the rainbow flags hanging everywhere, and a certain tendency in the posters on the walls towards films such as _My Summer of Love_ , which he knew about cos of Natalie. And so on. It was the easy feline grace of the male barista, and the wink he gave Colin. It was the way the guy just across from them was quite shamelessly checking out Colin’s companion.

To whom Colin now turned. ‘Bradley…’

‘Mmm?’

‘Is there something you want to tell me? About you and Dave.’

‘No,’ Bradley immediately retorted, shooting Colin a sharp though vulnerable glance.

‘Well, how do you explain –’ Colin cast a vague hand around their general surroundings.

Bradley shook his head. ‘Must have been a mistake. Got his wires crossed when he made the booking.’

‘You said he wouldn’t make mistakes like that.’

‘He wouldn’t,’ Bradley agreed with a sigh. The gaze he turned on Colin now pleaded for mercy.

Colin shrugged, and let it go. ‘All right. Anyway –’ Bradley was Keeper of the Itinerary – ‘we’re collecting the car and heading up the coast today, aren’t we?’

‘Yeah. Yeah. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.’

‘Course it will,’ Colin agreed. And that, for now, was that.

♦

### Bradley

  
Except that it happened again in Newcastle. They were booked into a double room, and the receptionist was politely adamant that it wasn’t the fault of the hotel. ‘I can offer you a fold–out bed to have in the room as well, though it will cost you an extra twenty dollars. But otherwise we’re fully booked, and you’ll find most of the town is.’ She confided with pent–up excitement, ‘The Knights are playing tonight.’

‘The knights…?’ Bradley echoed, momentarily thrown.

‘Oh! Yes, our footy team. At home to the competition leaders tonight. Sorry.’

Bradley nodded, but even the prospect of football couldn’t quite distract him.

Colin leaned in, though not too close, and spoke quietly. ‘One more night, mate. It’s not so bad, is it?’

‘It’s not gonna be just one more night, though, is it?’ Bradley asked as the two of them left the lift and headed off down the hallway towards their room. ‘It’s gonna be like this the whole trip.’

‘We’ll be able to swap to twins most of the time, I’m sure. Splash out on a second room occasionally maybe, when we want to.’

Bradley sighed. ‘I need to call Dave. See what this is about.’

Colin was silent while Bradley unlocked the door and let them in. They both cast glances at the double bed Bradley would have been sharing with Dave that night. Finally Colin said, quietly again, ‘You already know what it’s about.’

‘Yeah. Guess I’d better talk to him, though. Guess I owe him that. Tonight, after dinner. It’ll still be this morning back home.’

‘Yeah.’ Colin echoed his sigh.

♦

‘How was it?’ Colin asked when Bradley finally joined him in the bar.

‘Don’t ask.’ Bradley collapsed onto the bench seat beside his friend, and clutched at the proffered beer. ‘There was weeping.’

‘Him or you?’ Colin asked with a grin.

‘Him,’ Bradley replied shortly. He took a mouthful of beer. ‘Well, mostly him.’

And then Colin took pity on him and did nothing more than sympathetically clink glasses together in a toast, and sit there companionably with his elbow nudging against Bradley’s, while Bradley silently cursed himself for being all kinds of stupid, and a totally rubbish friend to boot.

♦

Late that night, in the darkness, Colin took pity on him again. Bradley had been lying there on his back, feeling way too churned up and wrung out to sleep – and Colin had at last murmured, ‘Here… Bradley, come ’ere,’ and when Bradley turned towards him, Colin gathered him into a hug that was all warmth and friendship and forgiveness. Bradley lay there awake, still plagued by conflicts and confusions, but at least he was starting to relax now. At least one of his friends still liked him.

Eventually Colin whispered, ‘Would it have worked?’

‘What?’ Bradley asked, though he was really only stalling.

‘Would you have… with Dave?’

Bradley shook his head, and burrowed in further. ‘No. And I had to tell him that,’ he mumbled. ‘Let him down, ’n all.’

‘Course.’

‘I just… don’t feel like that about him. I mean, he’s my friend, one of my best mates, and I love him, and – well, that’s it, really. Nothing more.’

‘You did the decent thing, Bradley –’

‘Why do I feel like shit, then?’

‘– the brave thing,’ Colin firmly continued. ‘Not many guys would have called him. Or been honest, if they had.’

‘Oh god, Col…’ he said brokenly. ‘I’m such an idiot.’

‘You were chivalrous,’ Colin insisted in a whisper. ‘The perfect gentle knight…’ And he gathered Bradley in closer still, and it was warm and safe there in his arms, and Colin’s breathing was deep and even and untroubled, and soon Bradley’s matched it perfectly… and a timeless while later Bradley felt himself slipping away, and with a sigh he let go. And slept.

♦

### Colin

  
‘Of course we can move you to a twin room, Mr James,’ the receptionist at Port Macquarie smoothly replied, ‘but I’m afraid the only ones available are at the back of the hotel, and you’d miss out on your balcony and your sea view.’

‘Sea view?’ Bradley echoed with an obvious pang.

‘Yes, sir. And it’s a nice big room, with a king–size bed. Plenty of space for both of you.’

Colin quietly observed, ‘It’s not been so bad, has it? Sharing?’

For a moment Bradley’s face was vulnerable with peace and warmth – but then he abruptly remembered himself, and Colin glimpsed red splotching his cheeks before Bradley put his head down, concentrating now on fumbling with his wallet, fingers clumsily trying to slide out his credit card. ‘Not _too_ awful,’ he muttered. ‘Anyway, the view,’ Bradley added.

‘Absolutely,’ Colin agreed. ‘Can’t miss out on a sea view, can we?’

‘Certainly not.’

The receptionist also had her head down now, fingers skittering over the computer keys. But Colin thought he spied a wryly happy little smile on her face that almost matched his own.

♦

That evening they asked for recommendations on nearby pubs, and headed out for a few drinks – and it soon became obvious that Bradley was looking for some female companionship. Colin kept a low profile, and just watched him chat with a likely prospect or two, offering a cooperative smile if she had a friend, despite the fact that he felt more supportive of Bradley than interested for his own sake. If Bradley wanted to sort through some perplexities in the most obvious way possible, then who was Colin to argue? It was perfectly understandable, really.

There was one young woman in particular who soon seemed to be the mutually chosen one. She seemed nice, with a smile as engaging as Bradley’s own; and her hair was blonde from the sea–salt, skin brown from the sun; she was curvy in the loveliest, most ordinary ways. There was something about her that prompted Colin to imagine she’d been out surfing that day. Colin watched as the two of them laughed and talked. She was delightfully expressive, obviously not caring about trying to maintain a remote fashion–model notion of beauty. Meanwhile Bradley was in fine form with his stories and jokes, comfortable enough to be increasingly expansive; he was always happiest if he was acting things out, telling the tale with all of himself. Colin knew him well enough to be able to lip–read all his punch lines. He tried to hide a grin. Mission all but accomplished. _Well done, Bradley. Nicely chosen._

Except that’s when it started going wrong. There were frowns, and negotiations, and shakings of the head, a fretful glance or two at Colin. Bradley’s body language started closing back in upon itself. And eventually the young woman turned away; and Bradley came over to Colin, said with a stony face, ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘But don’t you –’

 _‘Let’s go. Now.’_

‘Yeah, sure. All right.’ Colin stood, downed a last mouthful of beer, and then followed Bradley out the door. ‘What went wrong?’ Colin asked as he lengthened his stride to keep up with his friend. ‘She liked you well enough. I could _see_ that!’

‘Couldn’t go back to hers,’ Bradley tersely replied; ‘she’s staying with her parents.’

‘But you could –’

‘Soon as I mentioned I was sharing with you, the conversation started getting weird.’

‘But I could have –’

‘I _told_ her that. Despite which, she seemed set on the idea that I was asking her for a – that _we_ were wanting a threesome!’

‘Oh.’ Colin followed along as Bradley strode down the main street, then turned towards the waterfront and their hotel. ‘But why would she –’

‘Something to do with,’ Bradley replied, biting off each word, ‘the way you were watching me.’

‘Oh,’ said Colin. ‘Sorry.’

‘Right,’ was the abrupt reply.

‘I’m an idiot.’

‘Yes.’

They were silent then, until they were finally alone together in their hotel room. For some reason, neither of them turned on the lights, but relied only upon the moonlight coming through the net curtains. Despite which, Colin could read in every line of Bradley’s body that he was _on_. Whether that was due to his actor’s instinct for body language, or to sharing trailers and dressing rooms for months at a time and _knowing_ this man, or simply because Bradley was so very nicely endowed indeed that he would never have much chance of discretion – Colin was all too aware that Bradley was full of frustrated need.

‘Look,’ said Colin, gesturing in the vague direction of where Bradley’s jeans barely contained him, ‘why don’t I disappear for half an hour? Give you some, uh… me time.’

‘For god’s sake, Colin –’

‘Or I’ll sit out on the balcony, look at the view, listen to music. Loud. With my earphones _wedged_ in.’

Bradley seemed to be reduced to little more than growling. ‘Just fucking use the bathroom, and then get to bed, would you?’ he ground out.

‘Oh. Yeah, sure.’

As soon as Colin was done, Bradley went in, and locked the door behind him. Well, Colin thought, he must be planning on having a wank in the shower, and dealing with it that way.

Except that only moments after Colin had settled, Bradley strode back out of the bathroom in his t–shirt and boxers – his cock jutting out impressively against the cotton – and got into the bed on his own side.

They each lay there in a difficult kind of silence. They were several feet apart, cos an Australian king–size bed wasn’t just sized for the King of Camelot, but for the High King of all Albion. They were so far apart, and yet they were so very aware of each other that Colin thought Bradley would be able to count the hairs on his forearms where they prickled with nerves.

Finally, after what seemed to be _forever_ , Bradley said in impatient tones, ‘So get over here already!’

‘Bradley –’

‘Don’t try telling me you don’t want to.’

Colin swallowed. It took him three attempts to find his voice. ‘I’m not – I’m not Dave,’ he finally managed.

‘No, you’re not,’ Bradley cryptically replied. A long moment ticked by. ‘Well? You gonna give me a hand with this, or what?’

‘Oh god!’ Colin cried.

‘I might have been pretty slow in understanding what’s happening,’ Bradley continued somewhat more reasonably, ‘but I’m catching up now. All right?’

‘But –’

‘You want to, don’t you?’

Well, actually he _did_ , yes. Though Bradley, despite claiming to be tardy, had apparently realised that rather sooner than Colin. However… ‘Not if you’re _angry_ , Bradley. Not if you’re gonna hate me for it.’

Another moment passed, a little slower. ‘I won’t hate you,’ Bradley said, though it sounded as if he were arguing. ‘How could I ever hate you? You’re my friend.’

‘I’m your friend first, yes. Before anything else. I promise.’

‘Well, good.’ Then at last Bradley sighed, and a goodly part of the tension in the room finally sank away. ‘Then get over here, friend, and lend me a hand.’

‘But if you –’

‘For god’s sake!’ Bradley exclaimed. And then he laughed. An odd kind of laugh, but humorful nevertheless. ‘We’re two _guys_ , Colin. I didn’t realise there’d be so much _talking_ involved.’

And Colin spluttered a surprised chuckle in spite of himself, and then he found he’d already rolled up onto his side, so it was the work of a moment to shift closer, and settle in beside Bradley, propped up on his elbow so he could see what he was doing, so he could watch this man – he pushed his hand down under the sheets, and shaped it over Bradley’s strainingly hard cock, just the thin boxers now between his palm and what he wanted to touch –

Bradley’s breath hissed in between his teeth. ‘ _Yes._ God, Colin…’

Colin carefully ran his hand up and then down that generous thick length, just once. This was going to be – _oh god._ But there was one problem. Or more than one. ‘It’s not like doing myself,’ he observed.

‘Uh, _no_ ,’ with his delicious light irony.

‘I mean, it’s like I’m aligned all wrong – and I’m on the wrong side – ’s my left hand –’

‘Well, ’n here’s my right,’ Bradley said roughly –

And their hands were joining, their fingers dovetailing within their palms, and then Bradley was shifting them both down within his boxers – and it was Colin’s breath that hissed now as his fingertips skittered down such hot intimate skin – and they were wrapping around Bradley’s gorgeous cock, their thumbs locking in underneath – Colin looked down at his friend’s face, so beautiful in the moonlight with his eyes closed and his head back and his lips parted on a silent gasp – and then Bradley _groaned_  –

A few clumsy wonderful moments later, Bradley was arching up off the bed, and _coming_ , his hand frantically leading Colin’s now, and Colin watching spellbound – another groan as if Bradley couldn’t help himself –

Then Bradley’s eyes suddenly opened. ‘You?’ he asked tersely.

Colin nodded, struck dumb – and they shifted instinctively, Colin lying back and Bradley following him, lifting up so that he was the one now gazing down upon his friend – their hands still joined, also shifting, now pressed down against Colin –

And he didn’t even have the chance to wrap them up around himself, he was _so fucking close_ – Colin found himself rutting up against their hands, and as he came he curled up lifted up to press his face into Bradley’s throat, muffling a cry that would have given _everything_ away, and –

And they settled, not caring much about the dampness and mess, but just unlocking their hands and wiping them roughly on the sheets to either side, Bradley turning away but then both of them pushing back into each other’s warmth again, heads both on Bradley’s pillow, settling for sleep with Colin spooning his friend, both of them already so familiar with lying together like this.

‘Bradley?’ whispered Colin.

‘Mmm?’ was the only response.

And then maybe they were avoiding any further embarrassments, maybe they were utter cowards, or maybe they were just so very comfortable with each other and didn’t want to lose that, but they slipped away into sleep where there were no difficulties to face at all.

♦

And in the morning when Colin woke there were no difficulties, either, cos Bradley wasn’t even there. Colin was partly relieved, partly disappointed, wholly contented. He stretched out in the bed until his bones popped, and then took his time with a shower; dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and chose his favourite green t–shirt cos he wanted everything to be perfect that day. And then he headed down for breakfast, to the cafe at the corner of the hotel building, which looked out over the inlet and harbour.

Bradley was there sitting at a table outside, holding a steaming mug of tea, and gazing at the water. Colin was aware somehow that the weather was gorgeous, and the inlet was utterly calm and had this amazing opalescent effect going on, but really he only had eyes for his friend. Despite the fact that he almost desperately hoped they weren’t actually going to talk about what had happened, Colin wanted to revel in his memories and imaginings for a while longer… So he didn’t say anything, but sat down in the chair beside Bradley, said, ‘Coffee, thanks,’ to the waiter – and then tried not to stare at Bradley’s hand, currently wrapped around a mug of tea though only hours ago it had been wrapped around –

‘Dolphins,’ Bradley hoarsely whispered.

‘Uh… what?’

‘Dolphins, Col.’ Bradley indicated the inlet with a tip of his head, carefully as if not wanting to break the spell. ‘Fuckin’ dolphins, mate!’

Colin looked – and was just in time to see the dark arch of sleek back and a fin glide down into the water, despite the fact that there was a boat puttering by and a few people wandering along the shoreline. He gaped.

‘I am sitting here,’ Bradley announced, ‘eating banana bread – and why on _earth_ don’t we have that in England? it’s _amazing_ – and I’m drinking tea, and _watching wild fuckin’ dolphins swim past._ Does life get any better than that?’

‘No, it doesn’t,’ Colin agreed. Another dolphin curved a path through the warm lucid air and back into the peaceful sea. Despite which, Colin stole a glance at his friend, his beautiful friend, and what he saw made him smile like an utter idiot, cos Bradley looked so happy, so contented, so very _all’s right with the world_. ‘It’s perfect,’ Colin said.

Bradley glanced at him, too, and then away, grinning wryly. He stared at the water, obviously watching for more dolphins.

‘Banana bread, thanks,’ Colin said when the waiter came back. And it was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted.

♦

### Bradley

  
Bradley concentrated so very hard on the road that day. Not on his friend sitting beside him, chatting away in his magical brogue. At least the Australians were wise enough to drive on the right side of the road – by which he meant the _correct_ side, the _left_ side – so there wasn’t that to worry about. It was good not to have to worry about things. Not when he had the distractions of Colin’s long lanky body beside him, shifting what seemed like every five minutes, those long legs bending or stretching, those long fingers gesturing to make a point or lying spread on his knee. Colin’s own knee. Not Bradley’s. Not that he would want that.

Concentrating hard. Ignoring the countryside, the vivid colours. Colin’s lilting voice providing commentary, reading out from a guidebook Dave had supplied, and Bradley hardly took in a word, there was just the air somehow both warm and crisp coming in through the open window, and Colin at his side, and Colin’s voice weaving spells –

And this was _ridiculous_ , really. What was Bradley even thinking. So, two mates had lent a hand and tossed each other off the previous night. It wasn’t as if anything had really changed. It wasn’t as if Bradley himself had changed. The sun hadn’t imploded, the world hadn’t shifted on its axis, the continental plates were still drifting along at their own stately pace. He and Colin were still friends. ‘So, what’s in Coffs Harbour?’ Bradley asked.

‘Weren’t you listening? I told you, like, not even half an hour ago.’

‘Oh. Must have been paying too much attention to the road. Tell me again.’

‘Idiot,’ said Colin, touching him for the first time that day. Well. Not _touching_. _Touching_ implied things. Just jostling him with an elbow, like mates did. Friends. And Colin was talking about something, Bradley hardly knew what; all Bradley could think about was how Colin’s accent made it sound like poetry – no, better, a song – Colin could recite a shopping list and it would sound like a song, and – ‘What d’you think?’ Colin asked.

‘What? Sorry? What do I think about what?’

‘Oh for god’s sake!’ Colin groaned, giving up and settling back. He didn’t touch – He didn’t _jostle_ Bradley again, but he glanced over just as Bradley glanced at him, and their gazes snagged on each other’s for one brief shining moment before Bradley had to look back at the road.

And he really _did_ have to concentrate, didn’t he? Cos he was responsible for Colin’s safety right now, for this National Living Treasure, and if anything happened to him, then Ireland would at last reunite with Britain for the sake of declaring Bradley James to be Public Enemy Number One, and –

Bradley really had to be so very very careful…

♦

They checked into the hotel that evening with the absolute minimum of words exchanged. Not even risking a glance at each other, not even a breath that might hint at a qualm over sharing a room again. Sharing a bed. There was no question now – was there? – that they would share, they would sleep together, they would – Well, Bradley didn’t know about the rest, but at least Colin would have insisted on a separate room if he’d really wanted to. Surely he would have. Though Bradley wasn’t so certain that Colin would have found some way of making it clear that last night had been a one–time–only deal, because maybe he just assumed that was the case, like any reasonable guy would have… Or maybe…

They dropped their bags off, and five minutes later, still without even so much as looking at each other, they headed out, walked down towards the marina, the beach, strolled out along the wooden jetty. They stood at the end of it, leaning on the railings and contemplating the water, the sky, the trees and the sand. Everything here was… the same and yet different. The trees were green, but not the same kind of green as in England; green with a kind of blue–grey tinge to it. The ocean was blue, but not the same blue; there was more turquoise in it. The yellows were more like gold, the reds were rich and rusty. The air was… intoxicating, and not even in just the same oxygenated way one could find at the English seaside. Bradley took a deep breath, and dared to look at Colin as he turned around, leaned back against the railings with his elbows propped there to hold him up. Colin smiled at him, a long lazy contented smile…

They went to eat dinner, had another drink in a pub garden on the way back, making the most of the lingering summer twilight. And then it was dark, and it was time to make their way back to their room, to their bed.

They lay there quietly once they were in their night–gear, several feet of impassable mattress between them, breathing steady and loud in the expectant hush, staring blindly into the dark. The anger and frustration that had pushed Bradley into insisting on action the previous night had deserted him now, and he simply waited, wondering. Until at last he found himself sliding a tentative hand across between the sheets, searching, and – and he not _entirely_ unexpectedly bumped into Colin’s hand lying there waiting for his, and their fingers wove together, they clutched at each other, and then Colin was turning towards him, shifting closer, and saying quietly, brightly, ‘I had an idea,’ just as unproblematically as if he’d always known it would come to this, as if the last tense half–hour of them lying there _not doing anything_ hadn’t even happened.

‘What’s your idea?’ Bradley asked as Colin settled in close beside him and warm, leaning up on his elbow, leaning over Bradley as if encompassing him – but their hands still bound together, sticking up between them like a barrier, so that Colin couldn’t lean in any closer, couldn’t push down and – _oh god_ – kiss him or anything like that.

‘Maybe… both our hands together, like last night,’ Colin slowly explained – and their free hands reached for each other and dovetailed again as if of their own volition – ‘but this time… both our cocks together, too. You know… _at the same time_.’ And he moaned.

Or maybe it was Bradley who’d moaned. He wasn’t sure about anything much any more. ‘Where d’you come up with that?’

‘Dunno… just… remembering. Imagining. All the hours of the day…’

‘I was driving,’ Bradley said.

Colin chuckled. ‘Good. That’s good. So… d’you wanna try?’

Bradley nodded, which might not have conveyed much in itself in the darkness, but Colin seemed to get the right idea. And he gently unwound his fingers again, both sets, and then tugged to insist on Bradley letting him go. He shaped a hand to Bradley’s hip, and encouraged him up onto his side so they were lying there facing each other. Bradley had closed his eyes and kept them that way. ‘How –?’

But Colin got them organised, pushing their boxers down out of the way, just far enough, shifting closer still – Colin settling in with his lower arm cradling Bradley’s shoulders, not so much in a cuddle as cos there was nowhere else for it to go – shifting closer still until their cocks clashed, and they both hissed at the strange sensation. And then they were both reaching a hand down and around the other’s cock, their fingers meeting and meshing below this time, and their thumbs locking above, and it was crazy and wild, the feelings surging through Bradley at this simple thing, this complex thing he couldn’t quite understand – a cry tore out of him as Colin’s hand led the way, pushing down to the base before pulling up to the head, and –

Bradley was gasping, not doing anything but _feeling_ it, _experiencing_ it, and again he was so quick to respond, so quick to reach the brink, it was ridiculous, it would have been embarrassing if he’d been with anyone other than Colin – and Colin was spilling already, rutting through it again, his hips rocking in the most gorgeous filthy rhythm, and he pressed his face in against Bradley’s throat again, and somehow that was part of Bradley’s orgasm, too, Colin’s face pressed against him, and the orgasm washed through him, strange and unfocussed, and he spilled, adding his seed to Colin’s, and they were wrapped up so close, pressed so close together, mirroring and matching, it was confusing, it was warm and unfathomable and it was _so fuckin’ wonderful_ that Bradley was afraid for a moment he might let out a sob.

Instead he groaned wretchedly – honestly, it was lucky Colin didn’t assume he was in pain or something – and Colin muttered his name, mouth warm against Bradley’s hammering pulse, and as it calmed again they began settling, and Bradley prayed for sleep so that he didn’t have to think about this, he could just dream about it if he had to, and Colin had let go but was gathering him close into his arms, and Bradley just pushed in against him and then fell away into the dark.

♦

### Colin

  
It had been a longer drive that day, and Bradley couldn’t deny he’d found it tiring towards the end, but they decided that was all right, cos Byron Bay was their final destination, they were going to spend a week there before wending their way back to Sydney – and then heading home, not that Colin really wanted to think about that right now, cos home meant work, and work meant… Well, he just didn’t want to think about it. A return to sanity, he supposed, which actually sounded kind of sad.

Anyway, it had been a long day, so they decided they’d do the straightforward thing of having dinner in the hotel restaurant – which was actually rather a cool place, and Colin had sure appreciated all the vegetarian options that seemed regularly available on Australian menus. And then, after a couple of cups of tea and coffee for the sake of letting everything settle, they decided totally deadpan that they could both do with an early night.

Once they were alone, though, fear flared at the back of Bradley’s eyes, cos he’d seen Colin pop into a pharmacy when they stopped in the town of something–or–other for lunch, and Bradley must be thinking pharmacies meant condoms, which meant buggery, and just who did Colin think was doing the deed and who was having it done to him…? Colin favoured him with a broad easy smile, cos he didn’t intend doing anything like that scary.

Colin turned out the lights, and then he stripped off his t–shirt and boxers, picked up his purchase, slipped into the bed naked, and lay there waiting.

‘Col –’ Bradley said, sounding kind of broken.

‘Don’t you trust me?’

A beat of silence that went on just a bit too long. ‘Well, _yeah_ , but…’

‘It’s not what you think.’

‘No?’ Bradley sighed, sounding almost comically relieved. ‘Well, good. OK. What idea did you come up with today?’

‘Tell me you trust me, and I’ll show you.’

‘Oh god…’ There was a distraught tone in his voice.

‘Bradley. I’d _never_ hurt you. You must know that. Right?’

‘Right.’

‘So, tell me you trust me. Or _show_ me. Take your clothes off.’

Another long beat passed. But just as Colin was about to have mercy on him, Bradley shifted in the bed, and a moment later he pushed out a hand to drop his t–shirt and boxers to the floor beside the bed. ‘Get on with it, then,’ Bradley said, an edge of belligerence covering up any lingering uncertainty.

Colin knelt up, and slowly drew away the duvet, exposing them both. They were both already hard. How could there be any uncertainties at this point? Not in the present, at least. They were having a holiday fling, or they were exploring possibilities or something, and they were both _totally_ into it. The future could wait. The cold realities could wait.

‘Colin…’

Bradley couldn’t wait. Colin huffed a breath, and then he squeezed lube into his palm; swept it round his cock. Did the same with Bradley’s, while Bradley lay there watching him wide–eyed. Then Colin tossed the lube onto the bedside table, and slowly shifted to lay himself down over Bradley…

For a moment or two, there was confusion and clumsiness – of course there was, given that Bradley didn’t know what Colin was intending – but also… there was a moment in which, despite Colin’s reassurances, Bradley was instinctively opening his thighs to let Colin lie between them, and that was _so fuckin’ tempting_ … but Colin had worked out the least threatening way to do this, and he knew he had to stick with that – so he nudged Bradley’s legs back together again, just casually while he himself was moving, as if he hadn’t even noticed such a wanton offer – and Colin instead straddled Bradley’s thighs, and lay himself down over him, carefully aligning them both so their cocks pressed hard together – he wasn’t sure if this would work best with his cock atop Bradley’s or beside it, but they could soon sort that out. He lowered himself until he was on his elbows… and then he carefully began a long slow roll of his hips…

Bradley gasped out a breath, and pushed up into it – Colin could almost feel the man’s abs flexing beneath him – and then Bradley’s hands shaped themselves to Colin’s waist, slid around to the small of his back. Between them they found a driving rhythm, thrusting cock against cock, and Bradley wanted _relentless_ – but the closer he got to completing, the more Colin slowed the pace, until at the last Bradley was lying there clutching at him, eyes closed and whispering ‘ _please… please… please…_ ’ and Colin was gently rocking his hips, just keeping him there, keeping him there on the brink – until Bradley was desperate enough to slip his hands further down, to palm Colin’s rear and let his fingertips prod against the top of his thighs, to caress and then _tug_ , and –

And then Colin couldn’t help but grind down against his friend, and they were coming – it seemed to well up from Bradley, and pour down through Colin, and it was messy and wonderful and utter confusion – and afterwards Colin pushed his face in against Bradley’s throat for a long lovely moment – until he couldn’t hold his own weight up any more, and he collapsed away to lie at Bradley’s side – but Bradley followed him, and they held each other, and dozed for a while.

♦

‘Where on _earth_ did you learn to do that?’ Bradley asked when they resurfaced, and pulled apart briefly to stretch, then resettled loosely together.

‘Um…’ Colin flashed him a grin, not knowing if Bradley would see it. ‘With women.’

‘What?!’ Bradley huffed a bit. ‘Dunno what kind of women _you_ go out with, but mine tend not to have cocks.’

‘Mine, neither,’ Colin equably replied. ‘But haven’t you ever… got ’em nice ’n juicy, and then just… fucked up against ’em? Like, all snug along her tender bits?’

‘Well. No.’

‘It’s great! Your cockhead’s pushing up against her clit, not to mention a bit ’o smooth friction everywhere else, so _she_ loves it – and it feels good, _really_ good, but not as intense as actual fuckin’, so you can just last forever… It’s really great, Bradley.’

‘I get that.’

‘And I just figured… the same principle applied.’

‘Mmm…’ Bradley sounded unconvinced. ‘I suppose… You are _such_ a weirdo, Morgan. Still,’ he added, ‘it’s a bit early to go to sleep yet, isn’t it?’

‘A bit, yeah.’

‘So, maybe… when you’re good to go again…’

‘Yeah…?’

‘You can, uh… demonstrate your technique some more.’

‘Guess I could do that,’ Colin agreed, pretending nonchalance. ‘You know, if you wanna learn or whatever…’ He wasn’t fooling either of them.

♦

### Bradley

  
Apparently Colin was on a mission. They were wandering through the town while idly contemplating where to get lunch, and whenever they passed a bookshop, whether new or secondhand, Colin would smile apologetically at Bradley, and pop inside. After the third attempt he came back out brandishing a carry bag containing what seemed to be a large book, and grinning like a maniac.

‘Congratulations,’ Bradley offered. ‘What d’you find?’

Colin pulled down enough of the bag for Bradley to read the title.

‘ _The Joy of_ … oh fuck…’ Bradley could feel himself _radiating_ embarrassment. He pinched the flesh between his brows, then quickly turned and walked away _without_ checking whether anyone from the bookshop was looking out at them there on the pavement.

Colin, damn him, was laughing as he caught up and then easily matched Bradley’s pace. ‘They should totally rename it that. _The Joy of Oh Fuck_.’

‘Why d’you even…’ But why was Bradley surprised? He knew this about Colin. ‘Research, I suppose,’ he gloomily answered himself.

‘My Mum always said, _If a man’s worth doing_  –’

‘ _Please_ don’t talk about your Mum right now –’

‘–  _he’s worth doing well._ Why not?’

‘– and certainly not mine!’

‘Wouldn’t she be glad you’re having a happy holiday?’

‘Is _that_ what I’m doing?’

Colin fell silent – and when Bradley risked a glance at the man, he felt a pang of grief for the smile that had disappeared, even though he’d been trying to quell it.

‘Look. This isn’t exactly what I’d planned on, whether it was you or Dave or whoever. You know that.’

‘Yeah, I know.’ Colin brandished the carry bag again, though dejectedly rather than triumphantly this time. ‘I just thought… well, we’re both new to this, right? So, our imaginations are only gonna take us so far…’

‘Oh god! How far d’you wanna –’ Except that was _not_ a conversation he could necessarily cope with at all, let alone while walking down a street. Bradley held up a hand pleading for silence, looked about them, and was relieved to see a small bit of public garden nearby, with a bench and with no one in earshot. He led the way over there, dropped his butt onto the bench, and leant forward with his face in his hands. ‘So, is this, like –’

‘What? Bradley, sorry. I can’t hear you.’

Bradley lifted up a little, and turned his head, but not so far that he could actually see or be seen by Colin. ‘Is this, like, experimenting, or something? You just wanna try some things out, have a bit of fun, and that’s it?’

‘Uh… Is that – Bradley, is that what you –’ Colin had never sounded so uncertain.

Bradley took pity on him. ‘Sure. Just for the holiday, right? We’re friends. We can do that.’

‘And we’ll still be friends after?’

‘Of course we will,’ Bradley said without an ounce of doubt, sitting up again. ‘Of course. No question about _that_.’

Colin was considering him, thoughtful. Maybe a bit troubled. But after a while he nodded, and said, ‘All right.’

‘Do _you_ think we won’t be friends after?’

‘We’ll be fine,’ Colin said.

‘And in the meantime… we can have, like… lots of joyful gay sex, or whatever.’

That smile was back, just quirking a corner of Colin’s mouth. ‘Did you want lunch?’

‘Not hungry just now.’

‘Me, neither.’ A beat passed. ‘Could, um… go back to the hotel.’

Bradley sighed, stood up and stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets, then turned back in that direction. Colin settled into place beside him as they walked. ‘Anyway,’ Bradley announced, ‘your Mum so did _not_ say that.’

‘Didn’t she?’ Colin asked, with his delightful mock innocence.

‘If a _thing’s_ worth doing… _That’s_ what she would have said.’

‘She’d never call you a thing, Bradley. She likes you! And I’m sure she’d agree you’re worth doing well.’

‘Oh god,’ he muttered. Was there _ever_ a time when this had seemed like a good idea…?

♦

Something had changed within them, though. Something had freed them up. Maybe it was the agreement that this was about two friends experimenting, or maybe they were each more certain within themselves. Maybe it seemed less like some strange accident and more like something there was no reason not to want. But now they were falling into the bed together, naked and in daylight, shifting against each other, hands exploring, mouths nuzzling and biting at throats and shoulders. They ended up with their legs interleaved, Colin’s hand wrapped round both their cocks, Colin thrusting against him, that long lanky body undulating in slow rhythmic waves, shockingly graceful, while Bradley turned into Colin’s embrace, bending one leg and planting a foot on the mattress so that he could push up against the man, and his hands took firm hold of that slender rear, felt the lean muscle working within, kept the man close. And it was hot – literally, it was hot, they hadn’t stopped for lube, so it was hot and dry and any random spark might set them off – it was marvellous, and Bradley thought that after all their imaginations had been perfectly capable of getting them this far, and – and Colin’s eyes were darkening, deepening, and his mouth was shaping itself around a cry which might not be voiced – which was all it took to trigger the beginning of the end for Bradley, too – and he didn’t want Colin to finesse it, not this time, there would be other times for making it last – ‘Never mind the manoeuvres,’ Bradley said, and he gasped as the feelings mounted – ‘just go straight at ’em’ – and Colin grinned, and stepped it all up a notch, and Bradley rocked up harder, grasped the man harder, and – ‘ _God_ , you’re so –’ Colin began in his thickest brogue – and Bradley swept one hand up Colin’s long back to wedge fingers through his thick hair, threatened to drag the man down against him – and that was all it took, Colin turned twisted arched, pushing and rubbing his head back against Bradley’s hand as if massaging his own scalp against Bradley’s fingers, and maybe it was cos he wasn’t paying strict attention any more, Colin suddenly tensed like a bow, and the seed shot out of him, and Bradley was released, too, and –

There weren’t words.

♦

When Bradley woke from a doze he was alone, but then he saw Colin out on the little balcony, soaking up the sun and the view in t–shirt and jeans. Bradley hauled on his boxers, and padded out there barefoot. There weren’t words. Colin turned, apparently sensing him approach. Colin was smiling. And Bradley walked right up to him, and wedged his fingers through Colin’s hair again, cupped his long face with the other hand, and pushed in to kiss him. A gasping moment of surprise, and then Colin’s arms wound round his waist, and gathered him up, and they were kissing like crazed things, Colin keeping them upright by leaning against the balcony railing and holding Bradley tight, and both of them so utterly _involved_.

‘Why didn’t we do that before?’ Colin asked once they finally took a breather.

They were still wrapped up in each other’s arms. A small group of people walking by in the hotel gardens laughed and waved at them, or maybe pointed, and Bradley didn’t even care. ‘Dunno,’ he answered. ‘Didn’t get to that part of the experiment yet, I guess.’

‘What else haven’t we done?’

‘Dunno.’ Bradley pressed another kiss to those astonishing lips. ‘Where’s that book of yours?’

‘In there somewhere; I dropped it when we came in…’ Colin grasped Bradley’s hand and led him back inside, on the hunt. ‘Hah!’ he exclaimed before pouncing. Colin let go of Bradley to leaf through the book, before letting it fall open at random. ‘How about this?’

Bradley glanced at the illustration. ‘Oh god,’ he muttered. But he led the way back to the bed. ‘Come on, then!’

♦

They could hardly seem to quit touching after that, whether in company or not. Bradley had always been the physically affectionate sort, whether with friends or family or girlfriends. Colin would usually be more reserved, less demonstrative – but now even he would nudge Bradley with a shoulder while they were walking down the street, let his knuckles graze the back of Bradley’s hand, lean close beside him on a railing with their elbows or forearms pressed together. Maybe it helped that they were in a town, a country where no one knew them.

One evening, when dinner was brought to their table at the hotel restaurant, they were pretty much caught holding hands, and though it was thinly disguised as a thumb–wrestling contest, Bradley still blushed and thereby managed to reveal the truth. Not that the waiter did anything more than smile at them; a real smile that twinkled in his eyes.

‘They don’t care,’ Colin reassured Bradley. ‘You don’t have to feel embarrassed. Not here.’

‘D’you think it’s this whole… relaxed thing they have going on? Like being on Aussie time.’

Colin grinned a bit, and looked away for a moment, adjusting his napkin quite unnecessarily. ‘Yeah, there’s that. But I also think that Dave only booked gay–friendly hotels.’

‘There are gay–friendly hotels…?’

A roll of his eyes. ‘Yes, Bradley.’

‘That’s cool.’ He thought about it for a moment, and decided that came under the heading of Fair’s Fair. ‘That’s awesome.’

‘It’ll really be awesome when they’re _all_ gay–friendly, won’t it? When they don’t have to make a big deal about it.’

Bradley threw himself into a laugh. ‘Typical, Morgan! We’ve been doing this for, like, maybe a week, and you’re already some kind of gay rights activist…’

Colin was laughing, too.

Bradley finally picked up his cutlery, and made a start on his dinner. It was a pity that he wasn’t real hungry these days, as the Aussie cuisine was surprisingly good. Whether it was meat for him or vegetables and stuff for Colin, everything seemed fresh and tasty and… interesting. A mouthful of the steak Bradley had ordered was falling apart deliciously on his tongue, in much the same ways as he day–dreamed about Colin falling apart, and –

‘What did you mean,’ said Colin, still toying about with his eggplant couscous or whatever it was, ‘about me not being Dave?’

‘What did _you_ mean?’

‘Bradley –’

He put down his cutlery. ‘No, well. You said it first. When this started. You said you weren’t Dave.’

Colin put down his cutlery, too. ‘Well, I guess I meant… that I wouldn’t have done it this way. If I’d realised I wanted you. I would have been… more upfront about it.’ He scowled. ‘I would have just _asked_ , Bradley, not – sorry, I know he’s your friend – not hijacked you on holiday. God, wouldn’t that have been an utter disaster?’

‘Yeah, all right. I get it.’

‘I guess I was trying to say… don’t assume you know what I want, just because you’ve figured out what Dave wanted.’

 _‘All right!’_ he responded impatiently. ‘I would never assume I’ve got you figured out, Colin Morgan.’

A moment of silence passed, before Colin said a bit belligerently, ‘Well, and what did you mean?’

‘I meant – I meant –’ Bradley took a breath and sighed it out. ‘I meant I wouldn’t have, with him. Or if it _had_ happened one night – you know, if I’d _tried_ for his sake – it would have been a mistake.’ He looked at Colin, and surprisingly the difficulties between them seemed to ebb away again. ‘But I wanted to with you.’

‘And not a mistake…?’

Bradley shook his head. ‘No.’

‘I’m glad,’ Colin replied, with the little grimace that meant he knew the words were inadequate.

‘Is everything all right, gentleman?’ their waiter smoothly asked as he stopped by their table.

They picked up their cutlery again, and tucked in again with more enthusiasm. ‘It’s perfect,’ said Bradley. ‘Amazing,’ said Colin. And it was true.

♦

### Colin

  
They had a kayaking expedition booked for early that afternoon, with the promise of more dolphins for Bradley, secluded beaches, and sea turtles, too. But there was plenty of time before then. Colin settled on a chair out on the balcony with his feet up and his book on his lap. He’d figured re–reading _Good Omens_ was the perfect plan for a holiday, and he wasn’t wrong.

Bradley wandered out a while later, and loitered with intent.

Colin ignored him.

But of course Bradley wasn’t going to let him get away with that for very long. ‘What ’re you doing?’

‘Reading,’ Colin replied without looking up from the pages.

‘Yeah, d’you wanna… I dunno, walk up to the headland, or something?’

‘No.’

‘Get some fresh air, stretch our legs –’

Colin finally looked up at the man. ‘You go if you want. I’m happy here reading for now. We’re kayaking from one, remember?’

‘Course I remember. Come on! We can just head there once we’re done. Perfect day for it!’

An eager Bradley was hard to resist, but Colin had had a fair bit of practice over the past few years. He said again as heavily as he knew how, ‘I’m reading, Bradley,’ and he put his head down – even though when he looked at the pages, the words didn’t quite make sense, as if they were just random marks on odd bits of paper.

‘God, who _reads_ on holiday?’ Bradley grumbled, kicking disconsolately at the balcony railings with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

‘I do,’ Colin firmly replied. ‘Look,’ he continued, ‘you go do what you like. Then I’ll meet you at the kayaking place, if you want.’

‘What if I don’t want?’ Bradley asked a bit sulkily. ‘We’re on holiday _together_ , right?’

Colin levelled a quelling stare at him. ‘You know I appreciate a bit of time to myself.’

‘Well, yeah, I suppose. But –’

‘But nothing,’ Colin smoothly interjected.

‘We came on holiday _together_ , and then we, you know, _got together_ , and –’

‘It’s not like we’re boyfriends or anything, Bradley. And even if we were, I’d still be wanting a bit of time to myself most days. That’s just how I am. You know that already.’

Bradley was looking rebellious. But after a moment he swung another kick at the railings, and then he stalked off without saying anything more. The hotel room door slammed shut behind him.

Colin took a breath and looked down at the book. Soon enough the marks on the paper resolved themselves into words. But they didn’t start making sense again for a while after that.

♦

The one thing they’d tried that really hadn’t worked was blow jobs. Which was, of course, a great disappointment to them both – cos what guy didn’t love being on the receiving end of such, and surely another guy should know _exactly_ what to do.

But for his part, Bradley apparently _really_ couldn’t stand the taste of rubber in his mouth – and while they’d talked about matters of health in horrible detail and decided they were both probably fine, they could probably take the risk without any problems, Colin had then read the relevant entries in his reference book, and immediately reverted to his previous policy of being scrupulously safe. Not that he didn’t trust Bradley for his own sake, but the thought that Colin himself might ever be responsible for passing on such an illness just appalled him.

Colin’s problem with bestowing blow jobs was more like… a lack of involvement, or a failure of imagination, or some such thing… It was strange, but he just couldn’t seem to concentrate on the act. And to be honest, it didn’t help that there was _so much_ of Bradley. Colin was lying there between Bradley’s thighs, taking in as much as he was comfortable with, which was really little more than the man’s cockhead, and wondering – ‘Is that enough, d’you think?’

‘What?’ Bradley queried tersely.

‘The book said – not to take it any further than is comfortable. Until you get used to it. You know, not to try deep–throating or whatever – not right away.’

‘Oh, _damn_ that fucking book!’

‘Sorry, but –’

‘It would be _plenty_ ,’ Bradley lifted his head to announce, ‘if only you would _keep at it_ for more than five seconds at a time!’

‘Sorry,’ said Colin contritely, and he bent his head to his task again. ‘D’you ever do this with a woman?’ he asked a moment later.

‘ _Oh for god’s sake!_ Of course I have.’ Bradley pushed up to his elbows so he could glare down at Colin. ‘And who’d have thought _you’d_ be the least diligent of the lot!’

‘Sorry. I didn’t mean – I didn’t mean her on you – I meant – Well, I was just thinking…’

Bradley collapsed back with a groan. _‘What?’_

‘I was just thinking… what if you sucked her clit like this? _Gently_ , I mean. Even if it didn’t do it for her, it’d probably make her so sensitive that all it would take –’

‘Am I seriously meant to not care that whenever we’re together, you keep thinking about women?’

‘Um…’

‘If you say sorry one more time I’m gonna take that book and ram it –’

Colin lowered his head and got on with things. Eventually it worked. It was a pity that Bradley’s groans sounded more relieved than pleasured, but perhaps by then they could expect little else.

♦

They kind of reverted to where they’d started after that. To where their own imaginations had taken them. They still kissed – in fact, they kissed like they were on a mission to create world peace and kissing was the _only_ thing that could _possibly_ work – and they still happily fell back into bed during daylight hours, but otherwise they reverted to all–night snuggling, and mutual masturbation, and frottage – and frankly, Colin thought, it was fuckin’ epic.

One new thing was that Bradley soon developed a penchant for chewing on Colin’s nipples, but Colin didn’t mind so much about that. ‘I love your breasts!’ Bradley announced during one long lazy afternoon which they were spending in bed.

‘I don’t _have_ breasts,’ Colin had protested.

‘Do, too. Very manly ones. Flat and strong and hairy – and I love ’em.’

‘Huh,’ Colin retorted intelligently as the nibbling and sucking and chewing began again.

‘What d’you love about me?’ Bradley lifted his head to ask – too soon, too soon.

‘Dunno.’ Colin and his manly breasts weren’t done yet. He ran a hand back over Bradley’s hair, fitted the palm round his nape, and tried to encourage him back down.

‘Come on… there’s got to be _something_.’

‘Well –’ He winced.

‘I _hope_ there’s something!’ Bradley added, an insecure note sounding a warning bell.

‘It’s pretty obvious.’

‘What?’

‘I’m not showing much imagination here.’

‘Colin…’

‘Your cock. All right?’ He could feel his cheeks flaring with embarrassment. ‘It’s massive.’ He chuckled when he realised what he’d said. ‘Yeah. In both senses. It’s massive! I like getting my hand round it, trying to encompass it, explore it. Trying to wrap my palm round –’

‘ _That_ ,’ said Bradley with renewed urgency. He’d been gaping, adrift, but now he was demanding. ‘ _Now_.’

‘I’m not – _I’m_ not done yet!’

‘Later. I promise. We’ve got all afternoon.’

‘Bradley –’

‘Come on. You love him.’ Bradley leaned in close to confide, ‘And he’s become rather fond of you, too.’

‘Oh…’ Colin moaned. And with no further argument he shifted to lie over Bradley, he pressed his own cock to Bradley’s and tried wrapping them both up, cos there was no denying… there was something magical going on there, with their hands and their cocks together. Something that just _worked_.

♦

And there was a guided hike through the bush one day, and their own walks up the headland to the lighthouse and then back down along the beach. There were a couple of evenings at different pubs, listening to the local musical talent, which wasn’t half bad. There was eating, probably far too much eating, but Australians really knew how to _do_ vegetarian, and Colin was revelling in it. There were late afternoons for a dip in the ocean, and lazy strolls in the crisp air before breakfast. There were dolphins and surfers and musicians, and friendly people everywhere who would just strike up a conversation with them for no apparent reason. There was Colin, and there was Bradley, there was a well–used double bed, and a half–empty tube of lube.

Until at last, too soon, they were packing up and checking out, and beginning the journey back home. And even though it would be days yet before they’d be in Sydney, and then still another couple of days before they flew out – not to mention a whole day just spent on the plane – there was a sense of endings and changes and conclusions hanging over them as Bradley drove them out of Byron Bay and then turned south onto the main highway. They were silent for a long while. It was almost unnatural to be so quiet when Bradley James was around.

Eventually Colin decided he’d better voice it for them. ‘I guess we’re not quite done yet, yeah?’

Bradley glanced at him, welling over with misgivings. ‘We’ve got another week, almost. I promise.’

Colin nodded, and he shifted around with his back to the car door, folding his legs up. Watching Bradley. Colin _should_ be looking out at the countryside, cos he might never come to this place again, and it was all pretty spectacular. But it seemed to him that a rarer and more precious sight was sitting there beside him, and right now Bradley was too earnest to turn self–conscious at Colin’s gentle scrutiny. ‘All right?’ Colin asked softly.

Bradley nodded. ‘We’ll be fine.’

♦

### Bradley

  
‘Hello again, Mr James!’ They were back at the same hotel on Oxford Street, and the receptionist was still delightfully cheerful. ‘How was your trip?’

‘It’s not over yet,’ Colin edgily asserted from just behind Bradley’s shoulder.

Bradley hid a soft wistful smile.

‘Oh! I’m glad to hear it.’

‘It’s been great,’ Bradley supplied. He squinted at the receptionist’s name badge in the harsh lighting. ‘Steve. Thank you.’

‘Excellent. Now,’ Steve continued, with a quieter kind of efficiency, ‘I’ve swapped you into a twin room – despite the usual Mardi Gras chaos! – so you’ll be more comfortable. Sorry I couldn’t make it happen last time.’

‘Oh,’ said Bradley, feeling a bit nonplussed. He glanced back at Colin, wondering if he dared say enough to make it clear that _everything_ had changed since last they were here. Or maybe it was a hopeless case, cos English politeness and deference would win out regardless, and there was of course no way he wanted to seem ungrateful. ‘Thank you very much. That was thoughtful of you.’

‘Least I could do.’

‘It’s not necessary,’ Colin abruptly declared in his thick brogue.

Steve paused for a moment, and looked from Bradley to Colin and back again. ‘Sorry…? Oh.’ His face fell a little. ‘I’ve misunderstood, haven’t I?’

‘Well, no,’ said Bradley, half wishing that Colin hadn’t decided to make a point of it – but of course he would back him up now that he had. ‘No, I guess you understood well enough.’ He sighed. How to put it? ‘It’s just that – things have changed. Since then.’ And no doubt his embarrassment filled in the rest of the story.

‘Mr James –’

 _God_ … A twin room meant he’d lose Colin two nights before he had to. Not so much the sex, which presumably they could happily manage on a single, against a wall, in the shower – but the cuddling. The way Colin would wrap himself around Bradley as they settled, or the way he’d let Bradley wriggle in close beside him, and he’d adjust just the barest microscopic amounts until they’d found the perfect fit. And then they would _sleep_. ‘I’m sorry,’ Bradley blurted. ‘Steve, if there’s _any_ way – It’s not that I’m not grateful, cos I really am, but if there’s any way you could –’

Steve held out a hand, politely yet firmly asking him to stop. ‘Mr James, your room _does_ have two beds, and one _is_ a single, but the other is a queen–size. Does that answer your concerns?’

Relief overwhelmed him for a moment. ‘That’s – that’s perfect,’ he managed to say.

‘Excellent.’ And Steve smoothly ran through the rest of the rigmarole. This time as the lift doors were closing, Steve sent him the sweetest smile. Bradley tried to return it in kind, but no doubt his own came across as little more than watery.

♦

The strange thing was that Bradley slept so very deeply that night, when he thought he’d be restless and troubled. They woke in each other’s arms, and for a long while they simply lay there together – not pretending to still be asleep, but not moving, either.

Eventually they got up, and hauled themselves off for breakfast, over which they sat silently. Bradley drank two mugs of strong tea, but couldn’t even eat a slice of toast. He was too distracted to pay proper attention, but he suspected it was much the same for Colin and his coffee.

‘Mr James!’ Steve hailed them as they headed back into the hotel and through reception. ‘Are you watching the parade this evening? D’you need to find a good vantage point? I’ve got maps of the parade route, if that’d help.’

‘Oh yeah…’ Bradley nodded vaguely. ‘Yeah, that _was_ the plan. And we have tickets for some kind of party afterwards…?’

‘Lucky you!’

Bradley managed another watery smile. The last thing he felt like doing was partying. ‘Anyway,’ he argued, ‘there’s our flight to think of tomorrow afternoon. I don’t know if a late night’s the best idea… Twenty–four hours on a plane is hellish enough as it is.’

Colin was staring at him with a sceptical eyebrow. ‘You’re getting old, James. What happened to staying up all night, and sleeping on the plane?’

‘Can’t sleep on planes,’ he said tersely. Though obviously Colin would have remembered that. ‘I just _can’t_.’

Steve took pity on him. ‘There’s a group of us gonna be staking out the terraced area just outside the hotel restaurant – Jade’s probably there already, marking her territory… It’s a good spot, you get to see everything go by.’ He nodded, as if only now making up his mind. ‘You could join us, if you like. Both of you. Unless you’d rather do your own thing, of course.’

‘No, that would be great,’ Bradley quickly agreed, not even checking with Colin first. The next few days were going to be hard enough; Bradley resolved that he would always take the easiest option possible. That would see him through to the end. Maybe.

‘What’s wrong?’ Colin asked once they’d got back up to their room.

‘Nothing.’

‘Don’t give me that…’ Colin came back over to where Bradley stood just within the door, and he gently took Bradley’s hand away from his brow. ‘Here…’ and he cupped Bradley’s face in both hands, tilted it, and – and he pressed the sweetest kiss to that place where all Bradley’s tensions lodged. Another kiss. Bradley moaned, he couldn’t help himself. And then Colin took the little bit of flesh there between his teeth, and worried at it for a moment, nibbled at it…

Bradley laughed.

Colin pulled away a little, and grinned at him. ‘That worked, then.’

‘Yeah. Idiot,’ Bradley added. ‘Dunno where you get half your crazy ideas… Don’t _wanna_ know!’ Colin lifted his hand to rub a thumbpad at that spot, and it was as if the _whole_ of Bradley just relaxed into perfect utter contentment. ‘ _God_ …’

‘There,’ said Colin with satisfaction. ‘That’s better.’ He confided, ‘D’you see? You’re so very beautiful, Bradley James, and –’

The contentment suddenly turned brittle. ‘What?’

‘You’re _so_ beautiful, you’re such a gift to look at, and –’

Bradley was abruptly _way_ beyond irritated. ‘You know what, Colin Morgan? I had you down as the _least_ shallow person – maybe in the whole damned world!’

‘What?’ Colin had taken a step back, obviously thrown by a reaction he hadn’t expected.

‘If you knew – knew how _little_ that matters to me – how I really just don’t _give_ a damn –’

‘But –’

‘I know people think this face is handsome, all right? I  _know_ it. And even _I_ like the hair. But I have enough problems in casting and – I don’t know – _stereotyping_ , to want to bother about it when it comes to dating, and –’

‘God!’ Colin cried earnestly. ‘Shut up and let me finish, would you?’

Bradley shot him a glare, but then deliberately clamped his mouth closed.

Colin turned away for a moment. Wandered off, as much as one could in a hotel room. Gathered himself. Finally he turned back towards Bradley, though they remained a goodly distance apart. ‘Look,’ said Colin. ‘Bradley. You’re really beautiful on the outside. That’s just a fact. But the thing is, you’re even more beautiful on the inside. Like, a thousand times more. And that’s why… that’s why I like you so much.’

Bradley frowned over this for a while. He thought about arguing. He almost _wanted_ to argue. But really, in the end – other than the excessive flattery, of course – it was pretty close already to what he’d been trying to get at. ‘Oh,’ he eventually said. ‘Oh, well. I guess that’s all right then.’

Colin let out a breath. ‘Thank god for that.’

‘Though you’re obviously a complete and utter loon,’ Bradley continued. ‘There’s really nothing very special about me.’

‘Idiot,’ Colin muttered under his breath. Then he started pondering and eventually asked, ‘Um… So that does mean you don’t care what I look like?’

Bradley stared at him, astonished.

‘Cos that’s good, too, right? Cos I know I’m not…’

‘Oh god, but you _are_.’

A frown drew those brows together. ‘I thought you said it didn’t matter?’

Bradley wanted to reach out to Colin and rub his tension away again with his thumbpad. Colin had shown him how. ‘It’s not the _only_ thing that matters.’ Bradley harrumphed, feeling as if he were on the back foot again. ‘I’m tired of dating girls who seem to think it’s the only thing that matters, that’s all. I think.’ He frowned. ‘Oh, I don’t know. What do I know?’

Colin confessed, ‘I like looking at you. I even like that I like looking at you. Uh, if that makes sense. But there’s so much else I like about you, too, Bradley. Honestly.’

‘I like looking at you as well.’

‘You do?’

Bradley’s gaze ran over Colin, softly, gently, deliberately revisiting his mouth, his cheekbones, his eyes, his throat, his shoulders, his chest, his hands… ‘I do. But, yeah. Of course. There’s so much else as well.’

‘Bradley,’ Colin suddenly ventured, somewhat hushed, ‘this could be –’

And there they were at last. On the very brink.

‘Yeah, I know,’ said Bradley, reaching for every single bit of courage and confidence he’d ever had. ‘It could.’

‘We should try, then. To make it so.’

‘Yeah,’ Bradley agreed. ‘We should.’

And then he walked over there, and leant in close, tilting in almost as if he were falling – Colin gathered him in with hands that shook – and Bradley kissed the man.

♦

‘Oh god…’ Colin groaned as the lift took them back downstairs that evening. ‘It’s not just a parade, is it?’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘It’s the fuckin’ Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras! Poor Dave… He was really trying to live the dream, wasn’t he?’

Bradley pursed his mouth, unsure how to react. When he thought about Dave, he was torn between guilt, sorrow, confusion, anger, resentment, and – well, more guilt.

‘He’s going to hate me,’ Colin softly observed.

‘No!’ Bradley protested.

‘I just stole his dream away. That’s going to – hurt.’

‘He wasn’t playing fair.’

‘He was doing the best he could.’

‘Well, you won, so I guess you can afford to be magnanimous.’

‘Bradley –’

They were in reception now, and all was quiet and dark but for the lights and sounds of a party drifting in from the street, even though the parade hadn’t started yet. Bradley caught Colin by the wrist, and gently tugged so that they stopped and stood there facing each other. ‘What…?’ Bradley prompted.

Colin visibly swallowed before asking, ‘How can you be sure this wouldn’t have all worked out differently, if –’

‘If what? I’d been with him?’ Bradley shook his head. ‘I would have thought about it. Fair’s fair. I  _did_ think about it, didn’t I? Once I realised. Wouldn’t have worked. Him and me… we’re friends, _good_ friends, but we never had anything like what you and I always did.’

‘God, Bradley. This is just… I don’t know.’

‘ _You_ wouldn’t have done anything different, would you?’ Bradley asked, feeling bruised.

‘No,’ Colin immediately replied, too immediately for it to be anything other than the truth. He lifted a careful hand to Bradley’s throat; Bradley remembered Colin pressing his face there as he came, muttering Bradley’s name, back when they weren’t kissing yet. ‘And,’ Colin continued, ‘it’s not like I’m gonna give you up now. Certainly not for his sake.’

Bradley scowled at what sounded like a rather backhanded avowal. ‘What _would_ you give me up for, then?’

But that brought him one of Colin’s warmest and most reassuring smiles. ‘Nothing, if I can help it. I’m gonna do everything I can to make this work, Bradley. I promise.’

And they kissed again. They held on close, and they kissed, all verve and hope. It really seemed as if an awful lot of conversations could be ended and understandings confirmed with a proper full–blooded kiss. Bradley didn’t mind discovering that, oh no not at all.

♦

The parade was beyond awesome. So many floats, and all kinds of people marching with banners, more kinds of people than Bradley could even have _imagined_ – and the _costumes_ , god the _costumes_. Bradley and Colin watched, gobsmacked. ‘Charlotte should be here,’ Colin eventually said. ‘She’d love it.’

‘Yeah… Don’t know that I could cope with wearing whatever it inspired her to create, though.’

Colin grinned at him. ‘Reckon I could cope with _watching_ you wearing it…’

And the parade continued, long past all reason. The music and the noise, and the constant buzz of excitement, and the glitter and the _display_. Bradley ended up clinging to Colin round his waist, just cos it was all so _daring_ not to mention _dizzying_ , and really what did it even matter amidst this crowd if he touched his friend, if he held onto him? Not that all their fellow spectators were gay or lesbian or whatever, of course, but they were at least all friendly.

‘All right there?’ Colin murmured in his ear after a while.

‘Yeah,’ he said, a bit pathetically.

‘Come ’ere,’ Colin said roughly, hooking an arm round Bradley’s neck and hauling him in for the reassurance of a kiss.

And what did it matter? No one would even notice. Bradley hung on, and gave himself over to this man, his friend, knowing that they could take care of each other now, and let themselves be taken care of… God, and Colin was solid and warm and generous, and everything that Bradley had never known he needed. And –

 _‘Oh my god! It’s Merlin and Arthur!’_

Bradley frowned, trying to ignore it. Trying to pretend there was nothing in the world but for Colin, and Colin’s arms and waist and Colin’s mouth.

 _‘Arthur and Merlin! And they’re **kissing**!’_

They broke apart, and Bradley was relieved to glimpse that Colin seemed more pissed off than ashamed. Colin stood taller, but didn’t deign to let go of Bradley, and he stared at the parade passing by, expression furious. Bradley thought that he himself might have just died a little if it weren’t for Colin’s righteous fury. He turned his head towards the parade, not wanting to look for who’d caught them, but his vision was blurry. Colin’s arms tightened round him for a moment – and Colin was brave and true, and how could he have called _Bradley_ the perfect knight, when –

‘Bradley…’ Colin whispered. ‘Look!’

He blinked once or twice until his focus returned – and then he gaped. They both gaped. At the float slowly trundling past. Which featured, of course, amidst round towers and turrets… a dark–haired ‘Merlin’ and an golden–haired ‘Arthur’, wearing rather less than usual, though bearing a few signifiers such as a red neckerchief round Merlin’s throat and vambraces round Arthur’s wrists, and what appeared to be a chainmail mini–skirt… and the two of them were dancing rather more than usual, or _gyrating_ at least, and every now and then they were kissing or running their hands over each other’s bare torso…

They watched it go by, and then discovered that Steve was staring at them, likewise gaping, and apparently torn between hilarity and horror. Well, so – they’d just come out. Or been outed. To one person at least. Bradley smiled at the fellow, rather weakly.

‘I think I need a drink,’ said Colin.

‘Yes,’ said Bradley.

‘As stiff as humanly possible.’

‘Please.’

And they headed back into the hotel where the bar was empty except for a rather bored waiter, who obviously didn’t have the first clue who they were, and that was _just such a relief_. They collapsed into a booth, and Colin almost _keened_ at the weirdness. And then they consumed rather a lot of whisky.

♦

‘Bugger,’ Colin mumbled as they crawled into bed. The parade was over, but Oxford Street was still one long party, though that didn’t really matter when you were tucked away in your friend’s arms, in a double bed, in a hotel room on the seventh floor. ‘Oh _bugger_ it all.’

‘Please,’ said Bradley.

‘Last night here,’ Colin observed as they clumsily tried to settle into a comfortable embrace – which they had managed effortlessly so often before.

‘ _Not_ last night,’ Bradley insisted. ‘ _Not_ last night together.’

‘No,’ Colin agreed with a delightfully sloppy smile.

They gave up on trying to arrange the embrace, and just collapsed where they were, no doubt crushing each other, but not wanting to move away.

‘Had plans,’ Colin informed him. ‘Not whisky–related plans.’

‘Sex–related?’ Bradley asked with completely unfounded optimism.

‘Uh huh.’ A vigorous nod emphasised his agreement – ‘Ow’ – which apparently he regretted.

‘Me, too.’

A glint from one of Colin’s mysterious dark blue eyes. ‘What?’

Bradley grinned. ‘What you said. Buggery!’

Colin stared at him for a moment. And then snorted. ‘Snap!’

They giggled like two naughty boys, before growing serious again. ‘Which way…?’ Bradley asked. He gestured vaguely in the darkness. ‘Who… and whom…?’

‘You said whom.’

‘Yeah. What?’

‘Drunk ’n you said _whom_.’

‘Col –’

‘Any which way,’ Colin supplied. ‘Anything I could get.’

‘The buggery?’

‘Yeah.’

Bradley sighed wistfully. ‘Would’ve been nice…’

‘Maybe for you…’

‘Not for you?’

‘You’re massive, ’member?’

Bradley snorted. ‘ _Your massive member…_ ’ he echoed foolishly, and they both giggled some more. Yet Bradley still had something serious to say. It was taking more and more effort to organise his thoughts into words and then deliver them, but this was important. ‘You could cope. You’ll get there. You’ll love it. _Not_ our last night together, yeah?’

‘Plenty o’ time, then… to love it. Learn how to –’

‘Plenty,’ Bradley echoed. He was sagging heavily now, he could feel sleep tugging him down.

‘That’s what we’ve got,’ Colin agreed. ‘Plenty.’

The rest was silence.

♦

### Colin

  
It was grey and drizzly and cold down there in England; Colin couldn’t help but shudder a little as the captain announced the current temperature. He was already feeling underdressed, in t–shirt, jeans and trainers. ‘But we won’t be landing for another fifteen minutes, guys,’ the captain continued in his laidback tones, flat vowels and all, ‘so maybe it’ll have brightened up by then. Thanks for your company, you’ve been great. See ya next time!’

Bradley chuckled, but Colin must have been looking a bit woeful, cos Bradley leaned in closer and murmured, ‘You’ve got me to keep you warm now.’

‘That I do,’ Colin equably agreed. ‘How ’re you feeling?’

‘Brilliant! Must have slept half the flight. Did I? Must have been cos you let me cuddle you…’ Bradley grabbed Colin’s hand, and dovetailed their fingers together. ‘I’m never going anywhere without you ever again.’

Colin laughed at such an extravagantly unrealistic notion, but there was no point in denying his own helpless sense of delight, of surrender.

As the flight attendant performed her last check of the passengers before landing at Heathrow, she couldn’t help but glance at Colin and Bradley’s joined hands, even though she was far too professional to even bat an eyelash.

‘He’s a nervous flyer,’ Bradley tactfully offered with one of his most gorgeous smiles.

‘No, I’m not,’ said Colin.

Bradley’s smile turned into an irresistible grin, and Bradley added his free hand to the mix, rubbing his thumbpad across Colin’s knuckles. ‘No, he’s not. Actually, he’s my boyfriend.’

‘Yeah, that I am.’

‘Congratulations,’ she smoothly offered, before moving on down the aisle. ‘You must be very happy.’

‘We _must_ , yes,’ Bradley echoed very seriously, as if it were some kind of legal requirement. ‘Thank you.’ He turned in a bit towards Colin. ‘D’you hear that? We _must_ be very happy. All right?’

‘God,’ Colin complained, ‘the things I do for you, Bradley James…’

‘I know. I know. I’m entirely unreasonable. But what d’you think? _Very_ happy? Is that doable? Even a little bit…?’

Colin leaned in close, and rested his forehead against Bradley’s temple. ‘Mate. It’s already done.’

♦

♦ ♦ ♦

**Author's Note:**

>  **and some icons, just because…**
> 
>        
> 
>  **Picture credits:**
> 
> Headers and icons made by me from the following photographs, alas snagged without permission:
> 
> ♥ Sydney harbour header by me  
> ♥ Newcastle header by [johnno_oz](http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-open-mind/) on flickr  
> ♥ Port Macquarie header by [At_The_Beach](http://www.flickr.com/photos/24958117@N07/) on flickr  
> ♥ Coffs Harbour header by [-yury-](http://www.flickr.com/photos/yury-prokopenko/) on flickr  
> ♥ Byron Bay header and icon by [chylle](http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilya02/) on flickr  
> ♥ Sydney pride flag (actually snapped in San Francisco!) header and icon by [sigmaration](http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigmaration/) on flickr  
> ♥ London header by [.: Philipp Klinger :.](http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdead/) on flickr  
> ♥ Byron Bay 'the end' header by [roppongi2000](http://www.flickr.com/photos/7834401@N07/) on flickr  
> ♥ Mardi Gras beautiful smile icon by [PassengerFiftySeven](http://www.flickr.com/photos/passenger57/) on flickr  
> ♥ Mardi Gras angel, purple feathers, and haughty pair icons by [captured by jOsephine Ki](http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggersnapped/) on flickr  
> ♥ the boys kissing icon from a play called [The Pride](http://www.towleroad.com/2010/02/photo-ben-whishaw-and-hugh-dancy-make-out.html), with thanks to  for first alerting me to the wonder of it!


End file.
